Winners were as follows:
Best new leather – Marmara Deri, Turkiye for their three- dimensional lamb nappa, an interesting hybrid of leather and textile.
Best man-made materials – Omnipel technologies, Italy. Best new materials technology – Incusa, Spain for their application of the titanium tanning process and success in creating a commercially viable non-toxic, anti-allergenic leather.
Best ecological product – Hammann Lederfabrik, Germany, for their leading edge ‘cradle to cradle’ approach to tanning.
Best alternative materials – Chun Wang Brothers, Thailand, for their creative and colourful proposals of exotic materials including fish, toad, frog, eel, snake skins and chicken feet.
The award ceremony, held on April 1, also featured a Tango display sponsored by the Argentine Consul General in Hong Kong in recognition of the country’s significant presence and participation in Fashion Access.
APLF awards
The Best of APLF Awards symbolise excellence in design, quality and innovation, were once more a feature of the Asia Pacific Leather Fair held in Hong Kong. According to Perrine Ardouin, organiser, the winners of the materials and leather awards are put into contact with design schools such as BSLT in the UK and Thomas Bata University in Czech republic, thus helping to connect young design students with the industry.